Wake up! Mountain Dew debuts caffeinated-juice breakfast drink

Mountain Dew, long known for its caffeine content, is bringing out a new… (Pepsico )

How would you like to start your mornings with an ice-cold Mountain Dew?

Yow.

But that's exactly what Pepsico, owner of the brand, wants you to do. The company today announced the debut of Mountain Dew Kickstart, a caffeinated juice drink it hopes will be a viable morning alternative to coffee or tea.

It's no surprise that Mountain Dew -- already long-known for it caffeine content -- is attempting to get into the breakfast drink market, said Jeff Klineman, editor of the BevNet online and print trade publications.

"For a long time before energy drinks, there was Mountain Dew," Klineman said. "It was the official drink of gamers and truckers before Monster and Rockstar came along."

The only surprise, he said, was that it took Mountain Dew so long to come out with an official breakfast drink. Already on the market are caffeine-juice combinations Monster Khaos and Rockstar Punched.

Mountain Dew spokesperson Elisa Baker said the company did extensive research into the matter. "Our consumers told us they were looking for an alternative to traditional morning beverages," she said.

"Kickstart combines the best of all worlds -- it tastes great, has just the right amount of real fruit juice and gives them a kick to help them start their day," Baker said.

The amount of fruit juice Kickstart actually has is 5%, Baker said. As for caffeine, it has 92 milligrams in a 16-ounce can. That compares with 72 milligrams in a regular can of Mountain Dew. Pepsico's energy drink, Amp, has almost double that -- 142 milligrams of caffeine.

Klineman said that there's a long history of sodas and other drinks trying to beat out traditional coffee, tea and straight fruit juice for breakfast, without big success.

"There was Gatorade A.M. for a while," he said, "and I can remember the campaign for Coke in the morning.

"The point is that beverage companies are always targeting morning-use occasions."

Kickstart, which will come in two flavors -- Fruit Punch and Orange Citrus -- will hit store shelves on Feb 25.